Notice of Bid/Request for Proposal

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
University of South Florida
NOTICE TO INVESTORS/DEVELOPERS

University of South Florida Polytechnic announces that Investment/Developer interest is solicited to identify and propose creative funding, development and management resources and solutions for the facilities outlined in the project listed below.

PROJECT NUMBER: 552

PROJECT AND LOCATION: USF Polytechnic - Residence Facility and Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research, University of South Florida Polytechnic, Lakeland, Florida.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Residence Facility

The USF Polytechnic Residence Facility will provide contemporary suite-style and apartment-style living quarters for up to 500 – 1,000+ students in a village-style development. It is expected that this facility would be developed in a phased manner, initially consisting of up to 250 beds with additional phases opening as need dictates. USF Polytechnic anticipates the need for full build out of this 500-1000+ bed facility to occur over a period of 5-10 years following the opening the new I-4 campus site. The vision for this facility is that it will be developed in a village setting rather than a high-rise style residence hall. It will also house a community center that would include services such as residence hall office, mailroom, and laundry area as well as programming (living/learning) spaces, and would accommodate apartment(s) for up to two Area Resident Directors, Visiting Faculty and Guests of the University.

Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research

In close proximity to the USF Polytechnic Residence Facility, the USF Polytechnic Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research will provide a multi-use facility that will house fitness and recreation activities and programs, personal enhancement programs, physical rehabilitation facilities, wellness research, amateur/professional training facilities, competitive sports complex, community service and gathering spaces, academic programs, office space, and commercial storefronts. These facilities will serve an overall student population expected to reach 16,000, faculty and staff of approximately 500-1000, open community memberships, hosted events and rehabilitation participants.

The fitness and recreation area will include spaces for physical fitness equipment centers, intramural multi-sports courts, indoor track, leisure pools (i.e., lap pool, “lazy river” and “wave pool”), locker rooms with showers and toilet facilities, rock climbing wall, etc. The areas will offer state-of-the-art technological facilities. Personal enhancement facilities will provide for highly specialized evaluation and analysis of wellness needs in order to maximize personal conditioning and track the progress of its clients by way of technology.

Training facilities for amateur and professional sports conditioning as well as physical rehabilitation facilities will be a part of this complex. The services provided in these facilities will attract constituents from both inside and outside of the university; therefore, these premises must be designed and constructed with the student/client in mind.

The complex will also be home to a competitive aquatic center that will include a competition-sized (Olympic) pool and diving well. Areas for judging and observation must also be a part of this facility as well as spaces for team gathering and readying. This facility would also be made available for competition training.

Academic and Research Programs related to Allied Health/Wellness areas will be housed in this facility. Therefore, teaching and research laboratories for allied health/wellness related disciplines, such as Nutrition will be housed in this complex. The space in this facility is designated to promote interdisciplinary research and teaching. Polytechnic ideals are strongly oriented toward interdisciplinary, collaborative relationships – between faculty members, students, support staff, student support, and others. The close physical proximity of faculty, staff and students creates a collection of “critical masses,” providing constant opportunities for productive interaction.

The final aspect of the Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research is an area designed as commercial storefronts. This area will include specialty shops and convenience store services, as well as provide the campus’ primary dining facility and should therefore include a dining area as well as kitchen cooking and prep areas. The vendors that will occupy these facilities will draw support not only from University students, faculty and staff, but also from community members attending or obtaining other services in the facility. It is intended that gathering spaces be planned so as to create an inviting and engaging atmosphere.

HISTORY:

In 1978, the District Board of Trustees of Polk Community College (PCC) purchased the land on the current Winter Lake Road site for a Lakeland campus for PCC. The University of South Florida pursued a joint venture with PCC in the planning and development of a joint-use campus. On January 23, 1988, USF Lakeland (USFL), now known as USF Polytechnic (USFP), officially opened its doors as an academic center of USF in partnership with PCC.

The Board of Regents of the State University System of Florida revised the definition of this USF center to a Type III Branch Campus (Rule 6C-8.009, F.A.C.) on December 3, 1993.

By the early 2000’s the Polk County Legislative delegation was poised to expand the programs and services offered by USFL and during the 2002 Legislative Session allocated $1 million for planning a new USFL stand alone campus. In November 2002, the USF Board of Trustees approved the issuing of a request for proposal for a new campus site, and in December 2002, a Land Acquisition Committee was appointed.

Five proposals for campus sites were received in January, 2003 and were reviewed and evaluated over the next several months. In August, 2003, the USFL Campus Board accepted the Williams Company proposal which included a donation of a 530+ acre site at the intersection of Interstate 4 and the eastern terminus of the Polk Parkway.

The development of the original Campus Master Plan was guided by projections of enrollment increases and program development over the 10 year period 2005-2015. The academic programs consider the institution’s response to community and economic development needs, and establish or enhance programs in a direction of applied research in a polytechnic approach. In 2008, the State Legislature and the Governor designated this campus as USF Polytechnic, creating the state’s first and only polytechnic institution. Programs are being aligned to the new polytechnic mission and the Campus Master Plan will be updated to reflect a new vision for the footprint of the buildings on the new I-4 campus site.

STATUS OF PLANNING FOR THE PHASE I FACILITY – SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER:

The A/E and CM selection processes have been completed for the Phase I Facility. That project is the first building of a multi-phased Campus Master Plan which creates an integrated, fully-engaged university campus environment at a highly visible location on Interstate 4 midway along the 80 miles between the Tampa Bay and Orlando megalopolis areas. In addition to serving the needs of its tri-county service area, this university is intended to be a destination campus with a vibrant residential and campus life component. Given this location, the USF Polytechnic sought an iconic design for this facility and has selected a world-renowned architect to provide that vision. The Phase I Facility will primarily provide large multi-user interdisciplinary shared core facilities. The plan includes two 100-seat classrooms and multiple smaller learning laboratories to support student enrollment needs in upcoming years. These facilities will be scheduled by USF Polytechnic to meet growth in the development of technological and interdisciplinary approaches to various fields of study. Multiple commons spaces for faculty and support staff are also included in the project.

The design of the Residence Facility and the Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research must conform to the architectural standards established in the updated USF Polytechnic Campus Master Plan.

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS:

USF Polytechnic seeks proposals that outline creative solutions for financing, developing and operating the Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research and the USF Polytechnic Residence Facility. Solutions/options may include Public/Private Partnerships, Lease/Lease-back Arrangements, Creative Financing/Development Packages, Private Investor/ Donor Arrangements, and/or a combination of any of these or other unique opportunities. Proposals must also include the proposer’s qualifications to engage in this process.

Design of these facilities is not a part of this submission. The University reserves the right to select the design team.

There is no obligation on the part of USF Polytechnic to accept any proposal. USF Polytechnic is free to utilize any and all ideas provided by any proposer in the final funding, development and management of the facilities without obligation to proposer. Upon submission, any and all proposals shall become for all intents and purposes the property of USF Polytechnic. By submitting a proposal, all proposers are deemed to agree to all of the foregoing.

The University of South Florida is an equal opportunity institution, and, as such, strongly encourages the lawful use of certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (“MBEs”) in the provision of design and construction-related services by providing a fair and equal opportunity to compete for, or for participation in, design and/or construction-related services. The plans and specifications for the University of South Florida projects are subject to reuse in accordance with the provisions of Section 287.055, Florida Statutes. As required by Section 287.133, Florida Statutes, a consultant may not submit a proposal for this project if it is on the convicted vendor list for a public entity crime committed within the past 36 months. The selected consultant should warrant that it will neither utilize the services of, nor contract with, any supplier, subcontractor, or consultant in excess of $25,000 in connection with this project for a period of 36 months from the date of their being placed on the convicted vendor list.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Firms desiring to apply to provide investment/development services for creative funding, development and/or management resources and solutions for this project shall submit one (1) original submittal and eight (8) bound copies consisting of the information as required in the “Submittal Requirements” of the Project Fact Sheet including a letter of interest and a complete proposal in a format that includes but is not limited to an Executive Summary, a Finance/Development Profile, Specific Finance/Development Plans, Description of Creative Solution Options, Potential Partnerships, Requirements for USF Polytechnic Participation, Outline of a Development Agreement, Identification of Timeline for a 2012 Occupancy of both the Interdisciplinary Center for Excellence and Wellness Research and the first Phase of the Residence Facility, and Identification of Respondent (person of contact; postal, e-mail and physical address; office, cellular and facsimile phone numbers).

Submittals are part of the public record. All applicants should be properly registered at the time of contract engagement to practice its profession in the State of Florida. If the applicant is a corporation, it should be chartered by the Florida Department of State to operate in Florida. Applications which do not comply with the above instructions may be disqualified. Application materials will not be returned.

The “Project Fact Sheet”, which includes project information and selection criteria, may be obtained by contacting: Claire Johnson, Executive Administrative Specialist, Office of the VP/CEO, University of South Florida Polytechnic, via email: johnsonc@poly.usf.edu, by mail: 3433 Winter Lake Road, Lakeland, Florida 33803, or by phone: 1(863)667-7056. Interested firms are invited and encouraged to attend a Pre-Submittal Meeting at 2:00 p.m. (EDT), Tuesday, August 11, 2009, University of South Florida Polytechnic, Room LTB 1104/1105 to review the scope and requirements of this project. The LTB 1104/1105 is located on the USFP campus at 3433 Winter Lake Road, Lakeland, Florida 33803.

Site visits to the new I-4 campus can be arranged by contacting: Claire Johnson via email: johnsonc@poly.usf.edu. The site (property) is restricted and no trespassing is allowed. Therefore, all interested individuals wishing a site visit will require an appointment and will be transported to/from the site.

Requests for meetings by individual firms will not be granted once the Florida Administrative Weekly advertisement is published. No communication shall take place between the applicants and the members of the Selection Committee or employees of the University of South Florida except as provided at the Pre-Submittal Meeting, the Pre-Interview Meeting, the request for the Project Fact Sheet and the request for a site visit. Requests for any project information should be submitted in writing to Claire Johnson at the above email address. The Selection Committee may reject all proposals and stop the selection process at any time. One (1) original and eight (8) bound copies of the requested submittal data, bound in the order listed in the “Submittal Requirements” of the Project Fact Sheet shall be addressed to:

Alice M. Murray, Ed.D

Associate Vice President

Campus Planning and Facilities Operations

University of South Florida Polytechnic

3433 Winter Lake Road

LTB 2116

Lakeland, FL 33803

Applications that do not comply with the above instructions may be disqualified. Submittals are to be received by: USF Polytechnic, 3433 Winter Lake Road, LTB 2116, Lakeland, Florida 33803 by 2:00 p.m. (EDT), Friday, August 21, 2009. Facsimile (FAX) or electronic submittals are not acceptable and will not be considered.